If this is truly to be a service for the Roman god, one would think that he would offer us at least a little support, but the rain has not stopped in days. It is in such bitter gloom that we top the hill and make our way into the domestic lands of the Romans once more. So far from their home, I can not help but wonder as to what they are doing so far away. They can not tame the lands around them, only managing to lock themselves away behind brick and stone. Why can't they just stay in Rome and leave this land to us?

Our arrival to the village brings me to wonder yet again what we are doing here. The horses dance as we make our way around the bend and towards the wall. Around us villagers gather, unsure whether they should run in terror, or bow before us in gratitude. Their expressions warring between utter fear and complete devotion. They seem unsure whether we have come to answer their many prayers, or if we are going to finish off what their master had started. It is a pitiful display. Bleak faces turned towards us in desperate hope of salvation that we can not bring.

Tired and hungry, they look as if they are nothing more than bodies to work the land. They live in run down shacks and cottages that look ancient. Even at home, there were not straw roofs. Behind the wall Marius lives in wealth and luxury, and it appears that he will not share an ounce of it to his people. The doors are closed as we approach, and the guards on the wall arm themselves. It would seem we are not expected. Instantly I wonder if this is a trap. A set up by the Romans. I would not put it past them. Even though they have sent their own. Arthur however, doesn't seem worried, and I try to relax. It doesn't work.

The man we are here to save appears before us in all his pompous glory. A bitter plump of a man who has seen one too many dinners and too few days of hard work. He is deplorable even by the Roman standards. I would just as easily leave him behind, but it is not my choice. He emerges with an entourage of guards who look as bored and dimwitted as their master. Like Rome really needs any more politicians. He knows nothing of the outside world, but pretends all the same.

"It is a wonder you have come. Arthur and his knights! You have fought the Woads, vile creatures." He reaches for Arthur's horse, but the mount dances away; smart creature. I doubt if he has ever even seen one of the Woad. Does he even know what they look like?

Unsurprisingly, Arthur doesn't seem at all interested in the man's display of obvious stupidity. "Our orders are to evacuate you immediately." The words delivered apathetically. It is not a tone I have often heard from him, and I am suddenly reminded of our confrontation back at the stable.

"But, that is impossible…"

He doesn't even bother listening. Marius' words are, as far as I can tell, meaningless.

"Which is Alecto?" He asks as his eyes scan the group gathered before him. The answer surprises even me as the youth calls down from the wall before quickly appearing before us with his mother. He is barely out of childhood. Predictably, Marius refuses to let the child speak.

"Alecto is my son, and everything we have is here, in the land given to us by the Pope of Rome" He sounds so self aware, I take pleasure in informing him of his approaching demise.

"Well, you're about to give it to the Saxons. They're invading from the North."

"Then Rome will send an army"

I try not to laugh and I can see the others doing the same. Rome wouldn't waste their men on him, it is almost surprising to find ourselves here, but then they have never cared much for us.

"They have. Us. We leave as soon as you're packed." Arthur declares.

"I refuse to leave."

There is a glint of danger in Arthur's eye. It is enough to send a shiver even down my back. Marius doesn't seem to have the intelligence to back down, and we watch in curious wonder as Arthur stalks towards him. Marius attempts to prove his point by sending his soldiers out against the gathered masses

"Everyone, back to work."

Echoes of 'get back to work' flitter through the spectators as they are carelessly shoved and forced away from the party. Arthur is unimpressed. But in his lack of observation, Marius turns back only to find himself face to face with a rather irritated Roman official.

"If I fail to bring you and your son back, my men can never leave this land. So you are coming with me if I have to tie you to my horse and drag you all the way to Hadron's wall myself, milord."

The words send an unexplainable shiver down my spine, and I feel my stomach do slight flip at the thought. I try to hide the slight twitch of the corner of my mouth, and am glad to hear both Galahad and Bors suppressing snickers. Now that, is the Arthur we know and love. Marius is stunned at the supposed audacity, but backs down and disappears back inside. We are hoping that this is the end of it, but as Arthur turns and looks around the land, I know it is not.

I know that look in his eye, it is one that always leads to no good. This world is not meant for people like him, who care too much and fight with every ounce of strength for a belief that no one else can understand.

Still, we are his knights, and so as he draws Excalibur, and heads into the village, we dismount and follow suit. Before we can catch up with him however, he has already found his target. A man, looking thrice Arthur's age, skinny enough to show every bone in his body, dirty enough to prove he's been there for far too long is shackled in the square. Blood dried in the welts on his back prove that he has been left there for some time now.

"Who is this man?" He asks of the villager standing beside him. Gannis he had said his name was as he stumbled after Arthur like a lost puppy looking for a home.

"He's our village elder"

"What is his punishment for?" the barely restrained rage in Arthur's voice had all the villagers backing away.

"He defied our master Marius. You're from Rome, is it true that Marius is a spokesman from God, and it's a sin to defy him?"

I have never seen Arthur so enraged as he is in the moment that his sword cuts through the chains holding the poor beggar up. The villagers hesitate to help the fallen man, but at Arthur's urging he is unshackled and helped up. They lead him off to clean him, or so I assume.

"Now hear me. A vast and terrible army is coming this way. They will show no mercy, spare no one. Those of you who are able should gather their things and begin to head south to Hadron's wall. Those unable shall come with us." Gannis moves to mobilize the villagers. Thankfully, the fear of the Saxons overrides fear of Marius, and they move to gather their things without further question.

Dread pools in the pit of my stomach. The Saxons will be here by nightfall. With all of these people, we'll never make it. We can already hear the drums of the approaching army. They will be upon us before we can even leave this god-forsaken village, but Arthur it seems is more concerned with the immediate disparagement of the villagers. The motion of two soldiers has caught his eye and we slowly move to back him up as he ushers them aside with his sword. It looks like a tomb of stone, and the entrance is already half-sealed. The soldiers seem slow to respond, so we help them along. Daggonet comes up on one side, Gawayn on the other, their horses shouldering the men aside.

We don't have time for this. The drums are getting closer, but Arthur doesn't seem to care. As the stone is broken away, Dagonnet breaks open the wooden door that was, thus far, hidden, and I follow Arthur down into what appears to be a dungeon. Gawayn follows behind us, taking the guards with him, while Tristan and Bors stay outside to keep anyone else from following us.

Down below, the stone walls give way to caged off holes cut into the side of the stone. Chains hang down from over head; some empty others, further into the darkness, holding up long-dead bodies. In the center of the room, a mouse of a man sits with a book in hand, muttering prayers in Latin.

"Who are these defilers of the Lord's Temple?" He exclaims, but we ignore him and continue on down the rows of death and torment.

"The work of your god? Is this how he answers your prayers?"

Arthur doesn't meet my eye "See if there are any alive."

I don't see a point, but I do as he says. By the smell of it, they are all dead. One of Marius' priests has followed me, and it brings me great pleasure to end his life when he attempts to question my presence is such a 'holy place.'

I hear Daggonet call from across the room and turn to look in wonder as he helps a child out of a hole. My attention is quickly pulled away however, as I crouch down only to come face to face with a very much alive young woman. She stares back at us in silence, and Arthur doesn't hesitate to cut her free and carry her aside. She is a Woad, as I am sure the boy is. As Arthur brings her water, I remount my horse, disgusted at the depths to which the Romans have sunken. She is a Pagan, but so are we.